Seahawks officially activate RB Rashaad Penny for Week 15

The long-awaited return of Seahawks running back Rashaad Penny will be this Sunday against the Washington Football Team.

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The Seahawks activated Penny along with defensive end Damontre Moore on Saturday. To make room for those two on the 53-man roster, running back Travis Homer and offensive lineman Jamarco Jones were placed on injured reserve. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported earlier on Saturday that Penny was likely to be activated for Week 15, but that tight end Greg Olsen (foot) was a “longer shot” to be activated. It now appears Olsen won’t play in Week 15, but could play Week 16 against the Los Angeles Rams.

Seahawks RB Rashaad Penny is set to make his season debut against Washington, per source. Barring a change today, Seattle is expected to activate the former first-round pick off IR. Been a long road from a knee injury. TE Greg Olsen (foot) is considered a longer shot.

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) December 19, 2020

Penny, 24, tore his ACL in Week 14 of last season and has not played since. He has been on the physically unable to perform list and returned to practice this last week.

The Seahawks drafted Penny in the first round in the 2018 NFL Draft after a standout college career at San Diego State and in his rookie season, he amassed 419 yards on 85 carries and two touchdowns as Chris Carson’s backup. His rookie season was seen as a disappointment as he was hyped as a first-round pick and his selection was before Carson emerged as a 1,000-yard rusher. Penny suffered an injury in training camp that year, which some believe slowed his progression that year.

In 2019, Carson entered the season as the clear lead running back with Penny as the No. 2 back on the roster. Despite Carson’s issues with fumbles last year, Penny didn’t really carve a role in the offense until Week 12, when he exploded for 129 yards and a touchdown on just 14 carries. The next week, he and Carson were a dynamic duo, with Penny accumulating 107 total yards and two touchdowns while Carson had 109 total yards and a score.

Just when it seemed like the Seahawks were going to have a true one-two punch at running back, Penny tore his ACL against the Rams on his first touch of the game, and his second season was cut short in Week 15. He finished 2019 with 370 yards on 65 carries (5.69 yards per carry) and three touchdowns. He also caught eight passes for 83 yards and a score.

The Seahawks currently have a solid running back duo in Carson and veteran back Carlos Hyde, but depth after those two isn’t as good as the Seahawks would likely prefer it to be. Homer was set to miss his fifth game in a row with a knee injury before he was placed on injured reserve and rookie DeeJay Dallas hasn’t been used much of late with both Carson and Hyde healthy.

During his Friday press conference, Carroll said Homer’s injury, along with Jones’ and Phil Haynes’ injuries, were seen as a “long-term” injury, and hinted that roster moves could be coming in the coming days.

“If you can just hang on for a few days, it will make more sense,” Carroll said.

Carroll ultimately meant one day, as Jones and Homer went on IR on Saturday.

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